No Radioactive Water Dumping in Pacific Ocean at Fukushima

6/24/23 Berkeley Education/Action Meeting

No Radioactive Water Dumping in Pacific Ocean at Fukushima

Join The US Campaign to Protect California & The Pacific Rim From Radioactive Water Dumped From Fukushima By The Japanese Kishida government

Education & Action Meeting
Saturday July 24th 10:30 AM - 12:30 PM
Berkeley Main Public Library Community Room 3rd Floor
2090 Kittredge St. Berkeley


The Japanese Kishida government is planning to dump over 1.3 million tons of radioactive water with Tritium into the Pacific ocean from the broke Fukushima nuclear reactors. Over 12 years ago the reactors melted down and they are still unable to remove the melted nuclear rods. They cool
these rods with water that then becomes contaminated and now they want to dump all this contaminated water into the Pacific ocean threatening all countries on the Pacific rim.
The fisherman’s association of Fukushima are against this as well as many other people in Japan and around the world.
There are plans to get the Berkeley City Council to oppose this and a resolution will be introduced at an upcoming meeting. We will discuss
this at this education and organizing meeting on July 24 and have speakers who want to expand this effort in Northern California and the state
as a whole. We need to get other city councils, government bodies and all local, state and Federal elected officials to oppose this release of the radioactive water.
We also need to break the information blockade about the continuing disaster and the threat to the Pacific ocean by this dumping of tritium water.

If you would like to get more information, come to the meeting or contact us.

Kate Harrison, Berkeley City Council is supporting a resolution to oppose dumping of the radioactive water at the Berkeley City Council (kharrison [at] cityofberkeley.info)Phone: (510) 981-7140
We need to push Barbara Lee and Governor Newsom to take a stand against the dumping. Please contact them.

Congresswoman Barbara Lee: (510) 763-0370, https://twitter.com/repbarbaralee Governor Gavin Newsom: (916) 445-2841, https://www.tiktok.com/@cagovernor

Support Action by Berkeley City Council and by All Cities, Government Agencies, State & Federal Representatives

If you would like to get more information, come to the meeting.

No Nukes Action Committee

http://nonukesaction.wordpress.com

For more information, ontact us at chizuhamada@ gmail.com

Japan Proposes to Dump Radioactive Water into the Pacific
https://countercurrents.org/2023/04/japan-proposes-to-dump-radioactive-water-into-the-pacific/

in World — by Phil Pasquini — 14/04/2023
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Fukushima

Activists took to the streets today in front of the Japanese Consulate to commemorate the 12th anniversary of the second worst nuclear power accident in history demanding the Japanese government not allow the Tokyo Electric Power Company’s (TEPCO) to dump radioactive water from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station into the Pacific Ocean. They also called for “NO Nukes” for Japan and to shut down all nuclear power plants.

Today’s occasion was the 100th time the protesters have demonstrated at the Consulate against nuclear energy in warning of the ever-present Anthropocene pollution despoiling the planet. Chizu Hamada of “No Nukes Action” led a small group of dedicated activists in calling for the Japanese government not to release the radioactive water.

Noting that the Japanese people consume a great deal of fish and that the contamination posed by the waters released into the Pacific further increases the long-lasting negative health impacts for people. “The sea is life, a matter of survival” for the Japanese she said.

The ocean water off the coast of Fukushima was described in a Detusche Welle article from 2020 as having “…millions of times higher than the government’s limit of 100 becquerels.” Marine life as far as 25 miles out to sea from the plant has been shown to have high radiation levels rendering fishing a nonstarter for locals.

“Our voices must be heard” was how Hamada expressed the need of attention to the looming disaster and noted too that there are still 30,000 people who cannot go back to their homes because of the meltdown. During her sidewalk talk she remarked how Japanese scientists studying the area have warned of the adverse effects that the release would have, which generally have been ignored.

Another speaker related how as a child in the1940s and 50s she would accompany her scientist father who was studying tunicates attached to boats when he discovered that they were radioactive. He was able to determine that the source of the radiation could be attributed to nuclear bomb detonation tests in the South Pacific. A study published in the Marine Pollution Bulletin in 1977 noted that tunicates “…may serve as marine pollution indicators for monitoring the release of radioactive elements into the marine environment.” Their ability to accumulate certain trace radioactive elements can be used to determine the extent of marine radioactive pollution making them the perfect canary in the sea.

The event that caused the present problem at Fukushima was the 9.0-magnitude Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11, 2011. It was the largest ever recorded to hit the island nation and caused a 46-foot-high tsunami (tidal wave) to strike the plant. With only a ten-minute warning to shut down its reactors, the tsunami damaged the plant’s emergency backup generators shutting off power to its water-coolant pumps for the reactor’s cores. At the time of the earthquake radioactive water from the plant flowed into the ocean in “unprecedented” volume.

The tsunami’s impact resulted in 18,000 deaths, displaced 160,000 people and was so powerful that it shifted the Earth off its axis by an estimated 6.5 inches increasing its rotation that may have resulted in shortening our days according to a NASA estimate.

Heat generated from the rods in the cores was so intense in reactor number one that it melted the concrete structure supporting the containment vessel leaving it precariously suspended and in danger of collapse. During the following days, the cores overheated leading to the meltdown accompanied by hydrogen explosions. Radioactive material and water were in turn released into the ocean and the surrounding area prompting the evacuation of a wide zone around the plant.

In the twelve years since the accident, according to activists, there are “1.3 million tons” of contaminated water that the government and TEPCO now want to dispose of by dumping into the Pacific Ocean. The company claims that the water is safe and has been treated by an “advanced treating system” (ALPS) to prepare it for release. But according to a report in the Global Times published on March 27, the treated water “…still contains radionuclides that are not able to be removed…including ruthenium, strontium-90 and iodine-129, in addition to tritium.” Greenpeace also begs to differ from the TEPCO appraisal of the water by stating that “the water contains materials (carbon-14) that could potentially damage human DNA.”

The plan approved by Japan’s nuclear regulators calls for the construction of an undersea tunnel to run from the plant less than a mile out into the ocean where it would enter the water at a depth of 40 feet. The release has been scheduled to begin this spring even as scientists have warned of disastrous effects on the marine environment from the discharge that would see the water travel with currents across the Pacific Ocean. Along with the Japanese people, China, Micronesia, Russia, South Korea, Taiwan and the U.S. governments have all expressed strong opposition to the planned release. The Japanese government along with TEPCO have decided that it is cheaper to release the water into the ocean by applying the old “out of sight, out of mind” principal that has historically failed to ever remedy anything. Once it is released, there is no going back.

The radioactive waters’ release is the stuff of so many Japanese science fiction movies from the 1950s based on nuclear scenarios of giant monsters attacking Tokyo like the movie “Godzilla” that promoted the oversize T-Rex-like monster as “Surging up from the depths of the sea on a tidal wave of terror” along with the movie “The H-Man” that warned of the dangers of nuclear testing.

In his review of Godzilla, Brian Merchant in a Vice Magazine article dated August 23, 2013, referred to the film as “a bleak, powerful metaphor for nuclear power that still endures today… [a] deceptively powerful film about coping with and taking responsibility for incomprehensible, manmade tragedy,specifically, nuclear tragedies.”

But this is no movie and the waters’ release if it proceeds is yet another chapter of our blatant disregard for the long-term health of our planet and that of future generations. And who knows what form of a Godzillaesque creation will emerge in turn to come back and haunt us.

Report and photos by Phil Pasquini

© 2023 nuzeink all rights reserved worldwide‘

‘

West LA Passes Resolution Opposing Japan Dumping of Radioactive Water From Fukushima into Pacific Ocean

CITY COUNCIL MARCH 6, 2023 CONSENT CALENDAR

SUBJECT:

INITIATED BY: PREPARED BY:

RESOLUTION OPPOSING TEPCO AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN’S PLANNED DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN

COUNCILMEMBER CHELSEA BYERS

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT

(Yvonne Quarker, Community Services Director)
(Andi Lovano, Community & Legislative Affairs Manager) (Jennifer Del Toro, Community & Legislative Affairs Supervisor)

______________________________________________________________________
STATEMENT ON THE SUBJECT:

The City Council will consider adopting a resolution opposing Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the government of Japan’s planned discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1) Adopt Resolution No. 23-_______ “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD OPPOSING TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO) AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN’S PLANNED DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER FROM THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN.”

2) Direct staff to send copies of the resolution to President Joseph Biden, Senator Dianne Feinstein, Senator Alex Padilla, Congressman Adam Schiff, Secretary of State Anthony Blinken, and other partners as appropriate.

BACKGROUND / ANALYSIS:

On April 13, 2021, the government of Japan announced its plan to release more than 1.28 million metric tons of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean. The government of Japan noted the release of the wastewater as a necessary step for the ongoing plant cleanup and decommission, with

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AGENDA ITEM 2.W.

cleanup expected to begin as early as spring 2023 and continue for the next 30 years. The plant was severely damaged in a 2011 magnitude 9.0 quake and tsunami that left about 20,000 people in northeast Japan dead or missing.

As a result of the quake and tsunami damage, the plant’s cooling systems were destroyed causing a meltdown of three reactors and the release of large amounts of radiation. Water that has been used to cool the three damaged reactor cores, which remain highly radioactive, has since leaked but was collected and stored in tanks. The plant's operator, Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO), has claimed that it has run out of space to build new tanks to hold the accumulated wastewater.

The plant site utilizes the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS). This filtration system cannot remove all radioactive materials, leaving 72 percent of the water exceeding the regulatory standards and containing radioactive substances such as tritium (H-3), carbon-14, strontium-90, cesium-137, and plutonium. The processing of wastewater through ALPS will not change the quantity of radioactivity in the water, and such radioactivity could accumulate in parts of the marine environment and living organisms through bioaccumulation. Fukushima radiation has been detected on West Coast shores of the United States and Canada since 2015, and whatever is released in the planned discharge will eventually reach the shores of the United States and Canada and other nations in the Pacific, affecting their marine and coastal environment.

In April 2021, three independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed their concerns that the dumping of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi could impact millions of lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region, and such dumping imposes considerable risks to the full enjoyment of human rights of concerned populations in and beyond the borders of Japan. Experts have also expressed concern that the radioactive substances contained in the wastewater such as tritium and strontium, when consumed, may have negative long-term health effects on humans.

TEPCO’s plan has faced strong opposition from Fukushima agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and consumer cooperatives. In Japan, civil society groups, elected officials, and scholars have expressed concerns, along with the United States, and other nations in the Pacific region, who have petitioned the Japanese government to reconsider its plan.

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Scientists have pointed out multiple deficiencies in TEPCO’s plan, including inadequacies in sampling, inadequacies in assessing the effectiveness of ALPS, and inadequacies in ecosystem assessment. Several Japanese groups are calling for safer, more environmentally sound alternative solutions, which does not cause unnecessary harm to the marine and human life in the Pacific Region.

This resolution calls on the City of West Hollywood to oppose TEPCO and the government of Japan’s planned discharge of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Plant into the Pacific Ocean. This resolution is consistent with the City’s core values, which aim to protect the environment and the health and safety of the community. The City of West Hollywood and its visitors value our state’s ocean and coastal waters, which provide habitat to a vast array of wildlife, including fish, whales, sea turtles, and birds that depend on a healthy and clean environment. Discharge of wastewater, which may be hazardous, into the Pacific coast would put these coastal resources, and the communities and industries that depend on them, at risk of damages.

In 1994, the California Legislature enacted the California Coastal Sanctuary Act (Statutes of 1994, Chapter 970), a bipartisan statute aimed at protecting the California coast. Now more than ever, the California coast needs to be protected from decisions that advance the interests of the oil and gas industry at the expense of natural resources and the environment. Our natural resources belong to each and every American, are irreplaceable, and must be protected.

The City of West Hollywood has been at the forefront of pushing for reforms to improve environmental protections. In 2015, the City passed a resolution urging California to place a moratorium on hydraulic fracturing, commonly known as “fracking”, due to a number of environmental concerns. In 2018, the City passed a resolution in support of a ban on new offshore oil and gas drilling, fracking, and other well stimulation. And more recently in 2021, the City passed a resolution supporting any legislation permanently barring all new or existing exploration, development, or production of oil or natural gas off the coast of the United States.

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STAFF ANALYSIS:

This section of the report is provided by City staff to offer additional administrative and programming impacts for this item.

This item has a low impact on staff time and current departmental workplans. If this item is approved, it would require staff time to prepare and send correspondence to accompany the adopted resolution to the relevant elected officials as referenced in the report.

CONFORMANCE WITH VISION 2020 AND THE GOALS OF THE WEST HOLLYWOOD GENERAL PLAN:

This item is consistent with the Primary Strategic Goal(s) (PSG) and/or Ongoing Strategic Program(s) (OSP) of:

 OSP-11: Community Education.

 OSP-12: Actively Participate in Regional Issues.

In addition, this item is compliant with the following goal(s) of the West Hollywood General Plan: General Plan:

 SN-2: Minimize exposure to hazardous materials.

EVALUATION PROCESSES:

N/A

ENVIRONMENTAL SUSTAINABILITY AND HEALTH:

N/A

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:

N/A

OFFICE OF PRIMARY RESPONSIBILITY:

COMMUNITY SERVICES DEPARTMENT / COMMUNITY & LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS DIVISION

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FISCAL IMPACT:

None.

ATTACHMENT:

Attachment A - Resolution No. 23-_______ “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD OPPOSING TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO) AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN’S PLANNED DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER FROM THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN”

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RESOLUTION NO. 23-____

A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF WEST HOLLYWOOD OPPOSING TOKYO ELECTRIC POWER COMPANY (TEPCO) AND THE GOVERNMENT OF JAPAN’S PLANNED DISCHARGE OF WASTEWATER FROM THE FUKUSHIMA DAIICHI NUCLEAR POWER PLANT INTO THE PACIFIC OCEAN

WHEREAS, on April 13, 2021, Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) and the government of Japan announced its plan to release more than 1.28 million metric tons of wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean, starting as early as spring 2023 and continuing for the next 30 years;

WHEREAS, the Advanced Liquid Processing System (ALPS), the filtration system used at the site cannot remove all radioactive materials before the release, leaving 72 percent of the water exceeding the regulatory standards and containing radioactive substances such as tritium (H-3), carbon-14, strontium-90, cesium-137, and plutonium;

WHEREAS, the wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant is highly radioactive and is fundamentally different from the water from a nuclear power plant during a regular operation;

WHEREAS, Fukushima radiation has been detected on West Coast shores of the United States and Canada since 2015, and whatever is released in the planned discharge will eventually reach the shores of the United States and Canada and other nations in the Pacific, affecting their marine and coastal environment;

WHEREAS, in April 2021, three independent human rights experts appointed by the United Nations Human Rights Council expressed their concerns that the dumping of wastewater from the Fukushima Daiichi could impact millions of lives and livelihoods in the Pacific region, and such dumping imposes considerable risks to the full enjoyment of human rights of concerned populations in and beyond the borders of Japan;

WHEREAS, the processing of wastewater through ALPS will not change the quantity of radioactivity in the water, and such radioactivity could accumulate in parts of the marine environment and living organisms through bioaccumulation;

WHEREAS, radioactive substances contained in the wastewater such as tritium and strontium, when consumed, may have negative long-term health effects on a body;

WHEREAS, Dr. Arjun Makhijani, along with four other scientists, has pointed out multiple deficiencies in TEPCO’s plan, including inadequacies in sampling, inadequacies in assessing the effectiveness of ALPS, and inadequacies in ecosystem assessment;

ATTACHMENT A

WHEREAS, Fukushima agricultural, forestry, fisheries, and consumer cooperatives strongly oppose the TEPCO plan of disposing the wastewater into the Pacific Ocean;

WHEREAS, civil society groups, elected officials, and scholars in Japan, the United States, and other nations in the Pacific region have expressed concerns with TEPCO’s plan and petitioned the Japanese government to reconsider its plan;

WHEREAS, safer, more environmentally sound alternative solutions have been proposed by Japanese civil society groups, engineers, and researchers;

WHEREAS, Dr. Tim Deere-Jones, independent marine pollution researcher, has warned that populations who live or work within 10 miles from the Pacific coastline may be adversely affected by the release, because the radioactive particles can travel inland due to the evaporation of the ocean water;

WHEREAS, the City of West Hollywood is situated within 10 miles of the coastline; and, therefore, its residents and businesses are at risk of being adversely affected by the planned release; and

WHEREAS, the City of West Hollywood demands TEPCO and the government of Japan reconsider the plan and adopt a more environmentally sound alternative solution which does not cause unnecessary harm to the marine and human life in the Pacific Region.

NOW, THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the City of West Hollywood hereby adopts a resolution opposing the plan of TEPCO and the government of Japan to discharge wastewater from the damaged Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant into the Pacific Ocean.

PASSED, APPROVED AND ADOPTED THIS 6th day of March, 2023.

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ATTEST:

Melissa Crowder, City Clerk